A 1953 Triumph motorcycle, which was stolen 46 years ago in Omaha, Neb., was recovered at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport complex last Wednesday. Courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection

A 72-year-old Nebraska man will soon be reunited with his 1953 Triumph motorcycle, which was stolen 46 years ago.

The bike turned up at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport complex Oct. 30 just as it was about to be shipped to Yokohama, Japan.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized the vehicle that day after checking the bike’s vehicle identification number and paperwork and saw that it matched the description of a missing motorcycle from Omaha, Neb., in 1967. Customs then turned it over to the California Highway Patrol to return it to its rightful owner.

Lou Koven, special agent for the National Insurance Crime Bureau, who was in charge of finding the owner, said the owner was in disbelief and shock when contacted about the motorcycle, which had an estimated value of $9,000. When it was stolen, the bike was worth $300.

"He thought I was scamming him," Koven said. "But then the police contacted him, and then he started believing."

The blue and black Tiger T 100 model bike was reported stolen in February 1967 in Omaha. The owner said it was parked in his backyard all winter and a gate on the wood fence was forced.

Findings like these are common, said Todd C. Owen, CBP director of field operations in Los Angeles. He said in a statement that the motorcycle was one of three vehicles CBP recently intercepted that were stolen more than 20 years ago.

"CBP officers and their law enforcement counterparts check many outbound vehicles on a regular basis. Their success in recovering stolen vehicles is remarkable. A few have nice stories like this one," he said in the statement.

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